1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to safety devices for vehicle seats and, more particularly to a safety lock for a child vehicle seat.
2. Prior Art
Most children seats and other similar seats for automobiles and other vehicles (hereinafter referred to collectively as xe2x80x9cchild seatxe2x80x9d) are held down to vehicle seats using the vehicle seat belts. To do so, the vehicle seat belt, with its (usually) male component of the vehicle belt buckle, is passed through the provided openings behind the child seat. The male component of the vehicle seat belt is then engaged with the female component of the buckle and is locked in place. In general, the xe2x80x9cloosexe2x80x9d vehicle belt, if any, is collected by a spring-operated mechanism to which one end of the belt is attached. The same mechanism provides the means to xe2x80x9clockxe2x80x9d the belt in place if the vehicle is suddenly decelerated, for example during an accident, thereby preventing the passenger wearing the belt to be held firmly to the vehicle seat. The advantage of such a mechanism is that the passenger is then free to make relatively slow movements without triggering the locking mechanism. However, when used with child seats, the same mechanism has the disadvantage of allowing the child to slowly move the seat around, thereby leaving certain looseness in the belt which is not collected by the spring mechanism due to friction between the belt and the child seat, etc. In the presence of such looseness in the vehicle seat belt that should firmly hold the child seat, the child seat is free to substantially move (displace or rotate). A possibility is thereby created for the child to be thrown forward or to the side or allowed to be rotated to hit an object such as the front seat or the side roof of the vehicle.
To avoid the above situation, H shaped elements are generally provided by the child seat manufacturer for locking the vehicle seat belt on both sides of the male component. The H shaped element is to be mounted over the two belts after the belts have been passed through the child seat opening and tightened. As the result, the portion of the vehicle seat belt between its fixed end and the H element is intended to remain tight and hold the child seat relatively fixed to the vehicle seat. However, the proper placement of the H element on the two belts is extremely cumbersome. Firstly, there is very little space available between the child seat and the vehicle seat above the seat buckle to maneuver the H element in place. Secondly, since the belt is initially tightened to tightly hold the child seat, it is very difficult to slide the H element behind the belts and maneuver it in place. As the result, the user either abandons the H element or leaves the child seat prone to the aforementioned seat belt loosening or places it improperly and thereby does not benefit from its protection. In addition to the above problems with the installation of the H elements, the elements themselves are functionally deficient since even when they are installed properly, the belts can be moved slowly pushing and pulling them as does usually happen when the child shifts his/her weight around rigorously or as the vehicle continuously accelerates and decelerates.
An objective of the invention being disclosed is to provide a xe2x80x9cseat belt locking devicexe2x80x9d that is easily installed by the user to lock the belts of the vehicle seat belt following the installation of child seats.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a xe2x80x9cseat belt locking devicexe2x80x9d with a means to increase its xe2x80x9cgripxe2x80x9d if attempt is made to loosen the belt, such as due to rigorous shifting of the child weight or due to continuous acceleration and deceleration of the vehicle.
It is another objective of the present invention to provide a xe2x80x9cseat belt locking devicexe2x80x9d that can be readily unlocked and removed.
The first embodiment of the present invention consists of the following main components and generally operates as described:
1. A main frame half (or body portion) to which the xe2x80x9clockingxe2x80x9d elements are mounted.
2. A xe2x80x9cmatingxe2x80x9d half (or body portions) which is preferably hinged to the main frame half. The pair of overlaying belts to be xe2x80x9clockedxe2x80x9d to each other are placed between the two halves.
3. A xe2x80x9cclosing handlexe2x80x9d (or clamping means) which is used to close the gap between the aforementioned two halves, and as the result forcibly hold the two belts together.
4. Once the xe2x80x9cseat belt locking devicexe2x80x9d is closed, by pulling one or both belts in an axial direction out of the closed device, the aforementioned locking element (or locking member) is moved, preferably rotationally, to pinch the belts against a provided surface on the main frame. As a result, the belts are even more tightly held together. The more forcefully one or both belts are pulled out of the seat belt locking device, the tighter the locking elements pinches the two belts to each other and to the provided surface on the frame.